EYES LIKE EMBERS

A Savage Worlds One Sheet™ by Matthew Cutter

for use with Deadlands: The Weird West

Wherein a train’s passengers are stranded in Elko, Nevada...and soon discover a fearsome threat!

THE STORY SO FAR Elko, Nevada

The Denver-Pacific trainyards at Elko, Nevada are Fear Level: 2
legendary in the Tombstone Epitaph for their “unclaimed Elko used to be the eastern terminus of the Central-
freight”—misrouted parcels that ended up lost in the Pacific railroad. When the Great Quake put that
vast, dusty warehouses. The legends are true. One of company out of business, Denver-Pacific built a spur to
those parcels—containing four specimens of a new Elko. These days it’s a nearly forgotten place, used as
type of nosferatu—was originally destined for Baron a mining freight and supply center by Denver-Pacific
LaCroix. The Agency’s been looking for it ever since... and Empire Rails. The only permanent residents are
rail workers—with a population of 42.
THE SETUP
Run this tale of horror when the characters are There’s not much to Elko besides sprawling
traveling by train through Nevada. Without warning railyards, and dozens of warehouses lined up in
a loud BANG! sounds from up ahead of the heroes’ the sweltering heat. Five buildings are dedicated to
passenger car. The steam engine has blown several housing many more workers than live here now. They
gaskets in spectacular fashion, killing the engineer, contain barracks, mess hall, privies, and so forth.
coalman, and brakeman instantly. Though Elko’s warehouses contain hundreds of
The nearest settlement is the Elko trainyards, about pounds of ghost rock and various mining supplies
five miles away. The posse and the train’s other at any one time, they aren’t even guarded. It’s hard
passengers are stranded in the burning Nevada desert. enough to get to Elko, much less get back out with
enough fundaments to make any difference.
Dwindling Options
The engine can’t be fixed. Success on a Repair roll
at –4, or use of an appropriate power or Edge, gets
the train running long enough to limp into Elko. After
that point it does not function without major repairs.
Otherwise the passengers have to walk, which
takes about two hours and isn’t easy in the 100-degree
heat. Apply the rules for Heat (see Savage Worlds);
characters need to make a single Vigor roll for the trek.
The train’s other passengers aren’t happy about
walking or being stranded, but they follow the posse’s
lead with a minimum of complaints. The secret US
Agent among them keeps a low profile...for now.
• Conductor J.P. Halstead: Use the Union Blue
Rail Warrior profile in the Deadlands Marshal’s
Handbook. He’s armed with a Gatling shotgun
(Range 12/24/48, Damage 1–3d6, RoF 2). In fact,
“Halstead” is Jacques Poilot, a secret agent of
Bayou Vermilion who’s also looking for the lost
cargo—and sabotaged the locomotive!
• Passengers (11): Use the Townsfolk profile in the
Deadlands Marshal’s Handbook, adding individual
characters as desired.
Agent Clarence MacDonald: See opposite page. If
asked, he says his name is “Dan Worthington.”

© 2015 Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Savage Worlds, Deadlands, and

all related original characters, marks and logos are trademarks of Pinnacle
Entertainment Group. All rights reserved.
 STRANDED!
If train conductor (and Bayou Vermilion spy) J.P.
Halstead is with the group when they reach Elko, he
explains the situation to the workers on site. If not,
simple success on a Persuasion test convinces the
Denver-Pacific personnel of the posse’s sincerity.
Denver-Pacific engineers offer the passengers food,
water, and lodging in an uninhabited barracks. It’s a
no-frills situation. They are stranded in Elko for seven
days until the next train comes through.
Unclaimed Freight
With a Common Knowledge roll, one of the
hombres remembers reading about Elko’s mysterious
warehouses in the Epitaph. Or perhaps a passenger
mentions Elko’s fabled “unclaimed freight.”
Excited murmurs run through the passengers, and
some decide to spend their seven days rooting around
for riches. Denver-Pacific workers quickly dispel that
notion, insisting that Elko’s warehouses are off-limits.
The posse’s welcome to spend the time as they wish.
But there’s no hotel or saloon in town, so entertainment
is a rare commodity.
Fateful Discovery
That night four passengers ignore the workers’
warnings and sneak out to explore warehouses. After
a few hours, they find a large crate hidden in a dark
corner. They bust it open, not noticing the addresee
under a thick layer of dust: Baron Simone LaCroix.
Out burst four hungry nosferatu. They pounce on
the hapless passengers and quickly overpower them.
In 1d6 hours, the fiends double their numbers when
the dead passengers rise.
Worse, these aren’t your garden-variety “nose
ferrets.” Created by a foul arcane ritual, their hearts
are removed—and stored elsewhere for safety—and
replaced with a burning ember of ghost rock. The
resulting “ghostferatu” have burning orange eyes, and
are far more persistent than their counterparts.
• Ghostferatu (4): Use the Nosferatu stats in the
Deadlands Marshal’s Handbook, but add Low Light
Vision and Weakness (Garlic). Even if they are
killed, ghostferatu rise each night until their hearts
are destroyed. Their Infection ability causes victims
to rise as typical nosferatu.
• Nosferatu (4): See the Deadlands Marshal’s
Handbook.
BLOODSUCKING FREAKS
On the second night and each night thereafter, the
ghostferatu and their spawn range out in pairs. If
they’re not stopped, they keep infecting passengers
and workers until the posse faces a veritable mob.
That’s where Agent MacDonald steps in. He knows
ghostferatu can be hurt by a weapon smeared with
a clove’s worth of garlic—and he has some to spare.
MacDonald also knows that unless they destroy the
ghostferatu hearts, the fiends can’t truly be stopped.
J.P. Halstead does whatever he can to subtly hinder
the posse’s efforts. His goal is to escape Elko with the
cannister containing the ghostferatu hearts.
Cellar Dwellers
The vampires hide in a warehouse cellar during the
day. Success on a Tracking roll at –4 leads searchers
to the correct building. Inside, a Notice roll (–2) finds
a trapdoor to the cellar. In the corner sits a riveted
copper cylinder about two feet tall: It contains the four
ghostferatu hearts, which are destroyed if exposed
to sunlight. There is no direct sun in this part of the
warehouse, or in the nosferatu’s bolthole.
 Agent Clarence MacDonald
Clarence MacDonald got his start in Gomorra,
California Territory, where he infiltrated most of the
town’s factions without revealing his true identity.
When his cover was finally blown, Agent Hattie
Lawton helped him fake his own death. Now he ranges
across the Weird West, undertaking missions in the
Union and the CSA as his superiors request.
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, Strength
d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d12, Guts d4, Healing
d4, Investigation d6, Knowledge: Law d4, Knowledge
(Occult) d6, Lockpicking d6, Notice d4, Persuasion d4,
Shooting d12, Stealth d10, Streetwise d4, Tracking d4
Cha: 0; Grit: 5; Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 8 (2)
Hindrances: Vow (Serve the Agency), Cautious,
Vengeful (Minor)
Edges: Agent, Alertness, Brawny, Martial Arts, Quick
Draw, Thief
Gear: Agency papers (sewn into a secret flap in
wallet), LeMat Undertaker (Range 12/24/48, Damage
2d6, RoF 1, AP 1), Gatling pistol (Range 12/24/48,
Damage 2d6+1, RoF 2, AP 1), garrote, Bowie knife
(Str+d4+1, AP 1), lockpicks, black duster (Armor
+2, torso), Fugitives from Justice in the Confederacy
(including Chapter 13), reporter credentials, fancy
clothes, pencil, notepad, $124.80.
Steamer Trunk (stored in the train’s baggage car):
Gatling rifle (Range 24/48/96, Damage 2d8, RoF 2,
AP 2), 2x ground stakes (hollow railroad spikes with
a hidden compartment), silver ingot (stamped with
Sweetrock logo), 10x garlic cloves, Epitaph camera and
12 photographic plates, Texas Ranger badge, bible,
shovel, 50 ft. rope, wood saw.
“Clarence MacDonald” created by Benjamin Eisen.